Corby man sentenced for part in incident which saw victim stamped on

A Corby man who was given a second chance by a judge was involved in a horrific incident just six months later which saw a victim's face stamped on.

Alexi Da'Costa, 21, was spared from prison and handed a suspended sentence in December for possessing class A drugs with intent to supply.

He was warned that if he committed another offence his two-year sentence, which was suspended for 18 months, was likely to be activated in full or in part.

But in June he was arrested over his role in a fight in George Street which resulted in his former friend suffering a broken eye socket.

And, having been given bail by magistrates, he felt the full force of the law in July and was held on remand for almost three months after assaulting two police officers near his Lowry Close home.

On Tuesday (October 19) Da'Costa was given a prison sentence of 48 weeks - but it has since transpired that he was released on licence later that evening.

Northampton Crown Court heard Da'Costa, an aspiring bricklayer, was one of a group of people who were out in the early hours of June 6 in George Street.

In an incident captured on CCTV, an argument between two members of the group he was with escalated into a fight with one man throwing a drink over another.

Prosecuting, Luc Chignell said Da'Costa was seen encouraging one on as punches were thrown.

The victim - Da'Costa's former friend who he had fallen out with - fell to the floor but Da'Costa aimed a kick at him as he lay on the ground. It is not known whether the kick made contact.

Sentencing, Recorder Stuart Sprawson told him: "If you missed it was more by luck than judgement."

Another man was then seen stamping on the victim's face. Mr Chignell said no charges had yet been brought over the stamping.

Da'Costa was arrested but given bail by magistrates after admitting affray, only to be arrested again on July 24.

Police saw him leave a vehicle near his home and run away after clocking the officers, who found him hiding in a gap between a garage.

Mr Chignell said they told him to stop - but he ran at them and charged his way through, striking one in the face with his forearm and leaving him with swelling and bruising.

When they grabbed him another officer was hit by Da'Costa's flailing elbow. Police also found cannabis on the Corby man.

The court heard Da'Costa was immediately apologetic and was remanded in custody that day, where he remained for three months after admitting two counts of assaulting a police officer.

Probation workers told the court he was not manageable in the community and sought the activation of his suspended sentence.

But, mitigating, Carl Woolf urged Recorder Sprawson to take an 'extreme' course of action and instead extend the suspended sentence.

He said Da'Costa had previously been stabbed twice, assaulted on a number of occasions and was "on the brink" of getting into far more serious criminality.

He said that he lagged behind at school and had been diagnosed with global development delay, adding that being remanded in prison had been a 'salutary lesson'.

But Recorder Sprawson rejected Mr Woolf's plea to extend the suspended sentence.

Da'Costa was given 18 weeks for affray, six weeks for assaulting police officers and had 24 weeks of his suspended sentenced activated - a total of 48 weeks.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story said that Da'Costa was behind bars, based on events in court on Tuesday and the Recorder's sentencing. It has since transpired that, despite the sentence passed, he has since been released on licence and this article has been amended to reflect that.